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“Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place” - antique proverb

Prelude - Ten Millenia of Memories

Rhisinne, great equatorial plains, two years after the Heresy.

The utter silence tuned into a screaming crescendo smoothly like a curtain unveiled before the act. Fourteen Chimera Personnel carriers sat on the dry ground, their cargo perfectly lined up in front of them. The Stormbird touched down briefly. Clouded in dust it rose again and took away the crescendo. Silence. The dust settled and revealed five figures, two giants in midnight plate, a Het of the Geno Chiliad, a robed man and a frail, incredibly elegant character. A sharp clasp sprung as 166 Elite Geno Guard snapped into attention with near inhuman precision behind the General Governor, Geno 4-4.

The fate of the system was decided between this conclave, with only the desert as the witness. No written or other document would ever reference this event. The true rule was established and the trials of Vipera were initiated. “The Tacit” an elite military formation was born that day, but their history makes no mention of their forming, and verbal account does not cumulate in a unit of mouthless men.

We are Legion

They needed to find him and find him they did. Didn’t feel that way now, did it. It was fething cold, the humidity of the earlier thunder rains was whisked around by the brisk sea wind flowing through the forgotten docklands. The full moon cast a pale, icy glare that froze the shadows of the stand off.
There he was, in rugged civilian clothes, armed with a brace of pistols, Sgt. Jargassor, whom all needed to find - the least of their concerns now.

The entire hunt team had their retinas transfixed on the massive being next to him. A dozen weapons of different make pointed at him for what little difference it made. Standing two and a half meters, a god of war, clad in a huge suit of armor the color of night, the giant stared back, immoveable like a statue, yet radiating explosiveness like an unstable flux core reactor.

The wind turned only to punctuate the stalemate.

‘I am Alpharius, We are Legion‘ The giant announced in a distinctive, flowing, silky, yet authoritarian voice.

A Band of Brothers

Rhisinne, great equatorial plains, 999.M41

Bone jarring grind engulfed the wadi, Wrath of Vulcan, a Storm Lord and two Baneblades: Steel Dancer and Equilibrium powered forward in triangle formation, followed by two companies of Leman Russ Vanquishers, tiny in comparison. The plain on both sides was a hell storm of fire and smoke, as the 2-2-1 Artillery blanketed the approach invisible. Forty-two Chimeras followed the main battle tanks into the wadi, carrying the 3-7 Renor Grenadiers.

In the huge border county hive, a squadron of Valkyrie screamed thorough perilous support beams and hab structures. On board squads of the Tacit sat in silence, meditating the battle plan. Each could feel the stream of data in their comm implants, as their rides banked from side to side to navigate the tight approach and avoid the intense flak.

Sgt. Jurg of 3-7 double checked his watch, briefly revealing a hint of dark blue tattoo. A symbol bearing clear resemblance was also found on Colonel Rafs’ Chest, underneath the ballistic cloth that the Storm Lord crew wore to work. Comissar Grennel wore a signet ring with a snake around two crosses. Each and every one of the Tacit had a burn brand XX on their left pectoral muscle. Then there were the Stealth Cells, like Effrit, who wore much more developed and hidden brands. All told, over a thousand man or women preparing for war, training and training were “Legion First”.

A bastion of Imperial might, Rhisinne, it’s twin guardian moons Vipera and Pythan and 3 satellite worlds Quntus (agri world), Renor (geo mineral worl) and Falkh (Cardinal World) together form an empire of indomitable attrition against the fury of Maelstorm and the countless Xeno foe in the eastern Fringe. The System is gaining respect and referenced with the Likes of Abdus Prima and Gelt, even Ultramar, in productivity and model of Imperial Creed.

Rhisienne’s illustrious history draws close to the annals of the Heresy and it’s aftermath, but the founding of the mythical and elusive Blades of Laerna (Gene Seed unknown) chapter in M36 chartered an age of growth and strength in the region. In particular the pacification of Xenos hostilities in the region was profound.

The Adeptus Terra allow for considerable leeway in the dealings of planetary governing bodies, when the tithes are met and regiments raised. Rhisienne has been exemplary on both accounts, but the behavior, and in particular refusal of the Blades of Laerna to fight together with other Chapters, has warranted two Inquisitorial investigations on their conduct and position of power within the system. No conclusive findings have been made, but nor has anyone been allowed on the twin moon bases of the chapter. Four different Inquisitorial Conclaves have argued the issue. The Chapter seems to have a veto of sorts within the inner chambers of Ordos Ultima Segementum. Not so with the Astartes. Infuriated Captain Sicarius of the Ultramarines, normally the image of calm and tact, has reported his apparent disgust at a Blades of Lerna veteran, who outrageously introduced himself as _Heretic Name Scourged off records_, before disappearing without trace during recent operations against the upstart Tau Empire. This is but one of several shows of disrespect and bravado, or outright non co-operation. Some less taciturn chapters have threatened with open hostilities.

Rhisienne System can boast with two legendary Imperial Guard regiments, the Renor Grenadiers and the Elite Tacit. Furthermore the Rhisienne PDF is a top tier military formation, in high demand across the sector and beyond.

The system is a very model of Imperial values and strength, determined and resourceful.

The continuum of an =I=munda project, to 40k and then Apocalyptic and BFG scale.

"As I am increasingly becoming aware of myself as an artist, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay on track so to speak - or rather immensely liberating to just go where the inspiration takes me. "

"I've decided to throw out all the rules and just paint the way I feel I must and not be afraid of color. The project is inspired by Dainton's art as always, the Legion book and the pale, chilling light of the Moon."

Furthermore, the Legion's rash, eager to prove, outrageously creative and utterly dangerous outlook on things is an immense inspiration, together with Imperial Guard armies of 2nd edition that had many different units and schemes. The relationship of superhuman warrior gods and their guard protégées has endless depth to interpret.

You will get to see the hideous Tacit, the Heavy infantry Grenadiers and the distinctive Rhinisienne PDF, as well as super heavy armor, valkyries, different Stealth Cells, Cabal Agents, and of course a few more of the Legion.

I hope this blog becomes an open forum of discussing several aspects of the hobby and everyone feels like they can say their opinions and interact the way they want. I'd love to hear just "I think it's cool" if you think so.

I also do hope to go quite deep in some artistic crap, mainly in how I see the miniature painting having reached the age of "image perfection" and next can come true, unrestricted age of impact, rather than technique. If you look at the evolution of classical painting - and finally the age of camera and then photoshop - you know what I mean...and this is not to go I'm going to go Pollock on my models, but I shall use this samurai image from the genious Goodbrush as an example once again:

http://www.goodbrush.com/ The Green Samurai is on the second page, but all of his work makes my point. Is it technically Perfect portrayal of the image? Is it absolutely Perfect portrayal of the image and feeling?
_________________

This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2011/08/20 18:25:21

“Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place”

"And what is wrong with their life? What on earth is less reprehensible than the life of the Levovs?"
- American Pastoral, Philip Roth

Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!
We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum.
No soldier's paid to kick against His powers.
We laughed - knowing that better men would come,
And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags
He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags.

Is this the result of your rant in which you try to make this forum more kick ass than Warseer's blogs? If so...I think you might actually succeed here! Now if only you, Synapse and Apologist could combine forces...

I can appreciate the influence of goodbrush on the work here. I really like how you've shifted away from precision to really explore color and depth. I look forward to seeing an army as stunning and emotive as the models shown here.

Firstly, warm thanks for the feedback and encouragement. I am so happy there is dakka And this is going to be Dakka exclusive, if chat with friends outside of dakka doesn't count.

Secondly, now that I've taken a closer look at the Dakka Gallery options, all I can say is WOW!! Legoburner and Yakface, the two of you will make this place truly unique!

Imperial Guard

The glorious sledge hammer of the Imperium, and in it’s nature an encompassing representation of the imperium of man and the variety of worlds and cultures it contains. I feel that the Guard is too often watered down in to modern day military extension into this universe, rather than a true gothic fighting force of 41st millenium. This is not to say the universal character archetypes don’t work.

The FW Death Korps of Krieg to me are the epitome of just how gothic and cool Imperial Guard can be. But at the same time I am very fond of 2nd ed armies that had squads from a lot of different regiments and prefer for my models to have bare faces, atleast most of them, so the masked look truly masked.

I’ve started working on the first of my Rhisienne Regiments, the Renor Grenaiders, and a Captain of the 31st Mechanised, “The Raging Bulldons”. For the longest of times, I’ve had this bretonnian infantry head earmarked for a guard officer. There’s that hint of Patton like attitude and middle age wear and tear combined so well in one head.

Here’s a WIP pic of him and Alpharius of Legion.

This Alpharius carries a Heavy bolter, and will get a stealth team of Missile launcher guys. Where the first team was and will be even more of an tunnel rats, demo, in your face group, the second team will have a very different feel. I’m starting to design rules for these guys too, so when the new IG book comes out they integrate well and I can start playing some games too. I’m quite happy of Alpharius’s facial expression, smug defiance, almost like the face is pulling the trigger.

“Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place”

Just read your post about blogs on dakka, and you have made a new p&m-blog to go allong with it

I really like the real feel this project has. It does not look (right now) as marines with oversized weapons followed by giant humans. I have to say though, you have set the bar very high for yourself and other blogs if they want to match the work you have done, let alone surpasse...

It is looking very good and I will follow the thread. (and hopefully can comment on things, althoug I am nowhere near as good as you are...

As with the initial project ( http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/221869.page ) , two philosophies guide this project:
"As I am increasingly becoming aware of myself as an artist, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay on track so to speak - or rather immensely liberating to just go where the inspiration takes me. "
"I've decided to throw out all the rules and just paint the way I feel I must and not be afraid of color. The project is inspired by Dainton's art as always, the Legion book and the pale, chilling light of the Moon."
*SNIP*
I also do hope to go quite deep in some artistic crap, mainly in how I see the miniature painting having reached the age of "image perfection" and next can come true, unrestricted age of impact, rather than technique. If you look at the evolution of classical painting - and finally the age of camera and then photoshop - you know what I mean...

Fantastically happy to see that written down – the impact and effect of a miniature runs far beyond technical perfection; and it's great to hear someone which such high technical abilities say it. That's not to dismiss the importance of skill with a brush; but the effectiveness of combining different skills is sure to create a memorable and engrossing blog.

+++
The basing work you do is a real highlight for me – it's often easy to dismiss the importance of a context for a miniature, but a well-executed base that shows imagination and narrative really ties the final piece together.

It'd be interesting to hear some thoughts on regarding whole armies as a single piece of artwork: there are a lot of beautifully painted individual models out there that just don't hang together as armies – but it's clear that these troops and tanks have a lot of thought put into the overall effect of the finished army. It must take a lot of forward planning!

+++
Obviously as a staunch son of Calth, I ought to disapprove of the youngest legion taking up your time – but the background for the Alpha Legion is so engrossing and full of potential that I can only look forward to seeing where it leads you!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2009/03/23 12:47:17

I absolutely love the work you've done with your Sons of Calth. One of the most inspiring miniature projects I've seen. In my eyes, it doesn't get any better than what you've done with the unrestricted vision and impact and the manner in which you share it and let us enjoy it too.

“Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place”

@Apologist - Good to have you over here, hope to see some of your work here too. Your sons of Calth log is truly a joy to read, love the effort you put into the background alone and you have produced some wicked conversions.

Just placed an advanced order for all the new IG toys and the dex. Somehow this is the most pleasing method of buying minis. The anticipation, not knowing exactly when you get them and then getting them early - although it used to be much earlier.

The Valkyrie will be for the Effrit and obviously hugely motivating to build and paint. The new sentinel is a nice one off, I’ve always loved the sentinel kit, and the new one has articulated legs for great posing options, which knowing my basing is a huge bonus. I’m excited about the new weapon options too and this kit fitting in for Skirmish gaming. Something I intend to continue. The command kits are basically for the bitz box Tons of nice detail and options. They look like Perry sculpts to me!?

I worked a little more on Alpharius and the Bulldons Captain. It’s extremely pleasing to work on them together and to be reminded of the differences in physique and gear constantly, pushing for that interesting contrast between the two. The massive HB, which looks decently sized, not oversized, on my Marine really punctuates the difference. I think I found a great pose for the head too, chin down, with that smug defiant face, letting rip.

I need to keep working on the TWAR for a few more weeks, but am already relishing the prospect on just concentrating my hobby time on this project.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2009/03/25 16:23:32

“Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place”

This is shaping up nicely, can't wait for you give full time attention to this as the I'm interested in seeing how you get the schemes working towards a coherent force even though the units differ in character.

What exactly are these "Stealth Cells"? Are they humans or Space Marines?

As for the Cabal agents, I'd love to see you experiment with some cool xenos such as the Eldar or rarer ones in your awesome style!

It's projects like these that motivate me into trying to come back in the hobby 100% as in buying GW stuff and just go crazy! However, me being in Peru at the moment kind of prevents me from doing that (have to be a hard working social scientist now) and well, even if I do get back home I wouldn't do at it in the scale I would truly want. Money is a big problem and the fact that I feel I've spent more than enough of my money on GW products in the years kind of makes me want to experiment with creating models and stuff from scratch, poor kid forced improvisation!

Brilliant I can't wait to see this. The background is going to really tie this army together. Couple of questions will this be a planned army or a collecting theme? Are you planning to do a full Bret Guard Platoon at some point. I also have to wonder whether the Blades of Laerna are a cover for the Alpha Legion? Second thoughts don't answer the last one.

"But me no buts! Our comrades get hurt. Our friends die. Falkenburg is a knight who swore an oath to serve the church and to defend the weak. He'd be the first to tell you to stop puling and start planning. Because what we are doing-at risk to ourselves-is what we have sworn to do. The West relies on us. It is a risk we take with pride. It is an oath we honour. Even when some soft southern burgher mutters about us, we know the reason he sleeps soft and comfortable, why his wife is able to complain about the price of cabbages as her most serious problem and why his children dare to throw dung and yell "Knot" when we pass. It's because we are what we are. For all our faults we stand for law and light.
Von Gherens This Rough Magic Lackey, Flint & Freer
Mekagorkalicious -Monkeytroll
2017 Model Count-71

I'm really excited to see what the new guard kits will have in them. Should prove to be great conversion fodder and most likely will see some work in my warband ideas for the future ^_-. But those are for another thread...

I'm really looking forward to following this thread as your =I=munda idea grows into a full apocalypse army.

The question I have is: are you going to use this same level of character work on each individual model in your army, or are you going to expand the scale of your style so that the army, as a whole, takes on the depth of character that each of your individual =I=munda models has?
I've followed your TWAR blog and love the work that you've put into each model there, but with an army like IG, it seems like it might be easy to lose momentum trying to put that much individuality into each rank and file model. And if you do push through and put that much detail into each model, I wonder how you would make this work to enhance the feel of the army as a whole?

After your initial post, I'm really curious about your thoughts on individual model and overall army image, and how you intend to use them to achieve the maximum impact.

25/March/09 Today you get answers to good questions, rather than one of my odd monologues.

GitSmack,

To make it work, one needs a strong vision, which turns into a well worked out overall concept for the army, and great execution and a LOT of attention to detail. It's like product design in many respects (which I do for a living, though some would say which I live for ) But silly, self evident talk aside:

Obviously not every single miniature will be crazy scratch build, but everyone will be converted, I think everyone will have sculpted detail, and while there are going to be strong color themes running parallel through the army, I do plan to add small details and depth that reinforce the individuality of certain units. I want to add a lot of narrative and character to the Vehicles too. This seems wrong to me with 40k armies in general, the vehicles look entirely with out personality - despite becoming the extension of their human crew, in the most interesting and deep universe out there. I loved the article of a certain Shadow Sword in the new WD, the cursed gun four and named crew.

The vision also needs to happen in time and place! Hence I treat my basing as such a hugely important element in my projects. I want to have a feeling that they really are the landscape that these warrriors fight on, with narrative and real material feel and texture. Not just something to put sand on and keep the model upright on the table.

Llamahead,

A planned fighting force. Not in anyway restricted by the rules - eve if I do plan to make it mostly fit the IG dex. I think this will become and eternity project. Something like the TWAR, which I see myself returning to now and then. Or like the Crescent Guard marines have been. But then again, more than both, as this started with =I=munda and real natural narrative and excitement from the Legion book and art and our gaming group's attitude. As for the last question

“Of the fabulous hydra it is said, cut off one head and two will grow in its place”